Let’s be honest

I would love to tell you this was the best Thanksgiving ever. Or the second best, heck, even an average Thanksgiving. This year I can’t say that.

Earlier this week, my little one said she wasn’t feeling right; Hubby said the same thing soon after. Darn it; it was Thanksgiving week and Hubby’s birthday. Most of the kids at school were sick, and my little one brought it home, likely influenza. My week consisted of caring for the family. I lost count of how many trips I made to the pharmacy.

We had planned a small Thanksgiving with my mom, hosting Marines from Pickel Meadows that didn’t have family locally. We decided to delay Thanksgiving dinner, and another family was found for the Marines.

I posted on a local community Facebook group looking for a restaurant open on Thanksgiving so that I could pick up dinner. As our turkey feast was delayed, I was hoping for something else; Mexican, steak, or Italian. What I was secretly hoping for was KFC. No such luck; almost everything was closed.

A follower and sweet friend saw my post and offered to bring dinner, despite her family having the germies. I told her to care for her own family, but she gave me the idea of having appetizers on Thanksgiving Day. So I headed to Raley on Thursday to pick up a few things for Philo cup baked brie topped with her Bourbon Berry jalapeno Jelly. They were delicious!

At Raley’s, I was inspired to make a ham thinking it wouldn’t take too much energy. But, you know what they say about the best-laid plans. The appetizers and ham dinner were great, but I made three big meals over the weekend instead of two.

#optoutside Friday

I hate Black Friday shopping, the deals aren’t worth dealing with crowds, so I practiced R.E.I.’s #optoutside Friday. After a week of caring for a sick family, I headed out with my friend Jared for a mental health day. I wasn’t up for a big off-road or long trip, so we searched for a cabin I tried to find several times. The first trip was when I took a wrong turn at The Fork in the Road, and the second was when Jared and I visited Surprise Stamp Mill.

Gallagher Ranch

The third time was a charm! Jared and I had found the site on Google earth, but it didn’t look like the picture in the book. Jared had the location marked on his G.P.S., or we would have missed it. The buildings could have collapsed since the book was published ten years ago, but the roofs and rock walls didn’t match, leaving a bit of a mystery. Either way, the ranch was a fun find.

Weed Heights

Waiting for the Yerington museum to open, we visited Weed Heights. The area appears to be a company town; each housing unit is identical. The last time I visited, several blocks of housing were refurbished. Most of the housing had been fixed up and inhabited during this trip.

The most interesting part was a decommissioned mini golf course. It looked like it was something back in the day; an extensive course with a water feature covered the area, along with a shop and bar.

We stopped at the overlook over the Anaconda Mine. Below Weed Heights, the mining company set up Halloween decorations.

Lyon County Museum

After exploring, we headed to Yerington for lunch and visited the museum. Unfortunately, it was closed for the holiday weekend, but we peeked over the fence at the buildings. I think a museum trip is in order, starting at the Lyon County Museum, then the Ordanance museum in Hawthorne, and ending in Tonopah at the mining park and central Nevada museum.

Sunday

Sunday was a quick trip to Scheels; thankfully, we got in and out before it got busy. Hubby got his birthday gift, and I picked up an everyday winter jacket and a Carhart fleece to layer on my trip.

I have been researching historic locations to visit on my trip to Thunder Ranch; I learned about the Nevada, California, and Oregon Railroad (N.C.O). The station house still exists in Reno, so we made a brief stop. I hope to go back soon and check out the interior.

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